lia'

he was no longer the naive, hopeful wife who believed in love. No, this woman was different. This woman was a

without consequences. If Xander thought he could hurt me and

ake him r

ld ru

much from me-my love, my trust, my dignity-and now it was time for him to

m. Xander had everything-money, power, status-but there was one thing that he cared about more than anythi

I would be methodical. I would be smart. And I would make

y the path I wanted to take? Was revenge really the answer? But I shut the voice out. There was no turning

e sure to

er '

Amelia Hawthorne,

er shown any signs of weakness, not once in his life. He had a way of making people do his bidding, especially me, his only son. The weig

ing up its prey. He wasn't looking at me, his son, but rather at a pawn in his grand scheme. His v

said, "and you'll do it for

s grip on my life, my decisions, had always been unyielding. The business had been his life's work, a

ghest levels of society, and more importantly, they had the business connections my father had long coveted. He had made it clear from the start that t

I ever did, and she'd always had a crush on me. That was the worst part of it-the way she had always looked at me with ado

n my father's eyes, and now, she was becoming that in mine as well. But despite my personal feeli

d to know the truth-how much I regretted the way things had ended between us. How much I still cared for her. But

assing moment. I couldn't stand it. I couldn't bear the thought of losing her forever, but what choi

a without at least seeing Cecilia one last ti

ery night, to go to Cecilia's ho

t wind of my intentions. His voice was low but firm, t

it. "You will marry Amelia. I've made arrangements, and it's

ess, his voice cutting through me like a knife. "You're a Blackwell, and this family doesn't get

building inside me. I wanted to lash out. To tell him where to shove his plans

he couldn't control was my heart. And my heart was still wit

er one last time, even if it meant defying everything